The Birds Did Sing The Morning After
by NekoNoKitiKiti
Summary: The ex-general Cross Marian is back in the game after...Two years? That doesn't seem right, but at least he's found his Idiot and can sort out the whole Neah thing now! Parental!Crossen AU/Alternate Ending(now that the hiatus has been broken :3 )
1. Waking Up To Confusion

He blinked in the blinding sunlight, dazed, confused, and with a splitting headache...

He registered that he was in a hospital ward... That didn't explain much...

He looked down to find an IV in his arm; something was irritating his face, and with the limb that had no IV attached, he reached up to his face, and found a bandage covering half of it. Well, that was what was irritating him and why he was in a hospital...

A nurse came running. 'Oh good, you're finally awake! We were beginning to worry, you took a nasty bullet to the head, you're lucky to be alive, really, it was extremely close.'

'Mmmmmmhh...' He blinked some more. '... I can't think clearly... My head hurts... Where... Where am I? How did I get here?... Better yet, who am I? I don't... Remember anything...'

'It'll take a while for you to remember, especially small details, so just relax; you can't really do much else while that's healing.'

He went to touch the bandage again, and saw his arm was shaky as he lifted it.

The nurse spoke again. 'Yeah, you'll have to rehabilitate your movements, but that's the easiest part, so you'll be moving again in no time!'

He felt like he could think more clearly now, so he asked about his headache. 'I have a splitting headache; is there anything I can take, or am I already on too much... Whatever it it?'

The nurse looked at the chart on the end of the bed. 'The word is 'medicine' and... Yes, you're on waaaay too much to give you more, but one is a heavy narcotic, and its around time to give it to you again; you must have woken up because it wore off...'

'Narcotic?..'

'It'll make ya go to sleep when you take it.' She smiled wide.

'That would be great...'

The nurse checked the clock on the wall at the end of the ward and left. She came back with a syringe. 'Well, here's your narcotic; you shouldn't have to take this for much longer.'

The nurse gave him the shot in the arm without the IV, which happened to be his left arm; there was something important about a left arm, but he couldn't put his finger on it...

* * *

><p>A few days passed with this as the schedule, that he would wake for an hour and then fall back into sleep when the nurse gave him the narcotic, but he woke suddenly today.<p>

He jumped awake and could only say and think one thing, even though he didn't understand why.

'...Allen...'

The nurse assigned to him ran over, trying to stop him from getting out of bed and pulling his IV out; it proved to be easy enough, but he still tried to explain why he had to leave.

'Allen... My Idiot, I have to find my Idiot.'

The nurse tried to calm him down. 'Well, first why don't we say who you're looking for, besides just a name...'

He looked up at her a little confused. 'I don't remember anything but a name, and that I called him Idiot all the time... There was more to the name, Idiot something... But, I don't remember anything else... well, I remember another name, Tim, but nothing about that name either...'

The nurse sat down on the edge of the bed, this might be a long conversation.

'Do you think they were the names of your children, maybe? But if that were the case, they would be looking for you...'

He looked down in thought for a moment, then looked back at the nurse. 'No... That's not right, I remember having a lot of... Mistresses, if that's what you want to call them, and I don't remember having a kid that was mine, just a kid that I took care of... I can't remember if that was 'Allen' or not...'

'Well, it'll all come back to you in time; today's the last day for you to take your narcotic, so you'll have a lot more time to piece everything together.'

The nurse stood up to go about her day.

'How long do I have to stay in here?' The nurse turned back to look at him.

'Until you're healed, with remembering everything and physically.' The nurse smiled at him and left for the time being.

* * *

><p>Just a little intro to a new series :3 It's what I think could have been after Cross got shot. I tried to make it realistic, I figure someone who had been shot in the head would forget some stuff... Or <em>is<em> that the reason he's forgotten stuff? I suppose we'll see... :3 We'll see Allen and people later on, but it's just Cross for right now :3


	2. Commotion!

He woke again to new revelations, just as he did every morning. And, just as he did every morning, he talked to his nurse about them.

She walked over on this sunny morning and greeted him. 'Morning; anything new?'

He sat up in bed; he wasn't far from the large window that allowed the warm morning sunlight in, and he now basked in the warm rays. A few days previous, he had remembered his typical morning routine of tanning, and he hated the fact he couldn't continue it, being bedridden and all. So he enjoyed the sunshine as a temporary replacement.

' I remember a hand symbol, like this,' On his left hand, he curled up his pinky, ring finger, and thumb, leaving his other two fingers stretched out right up against each other. 'But, I don't know how it connects, I mean, I remember a girl's name, and this makes me think of her, but it isn't clear... Then again, everything is blurry; I think I used to fight a lot, I had a gun, but...' He frowned slightly, as he usually did when the seemingly huge piece of remembered information didn't prove to be as impacting on others as he felt it would or should be.

The nurse distractedly answered as she looked at the clipboard attached to the end of the bed. 'Ah... Its a bit annoying not knowing your name...' She frowned. 'Do you remember anything about your name, perchance?'

He looked up in thought. '...Maria... Her name is similar to mine...' He comically slouched in frustration. '...But I don't remember how...'

When he looked back up, the nurse was in thought. 'Maria... Ah! Marian!'

His face brightened. 'That's it, that's my second name, last name... surname, that's the word.' He nodded and smiled approvingly.

The nurse cheerily wrote it down, and began the next phase. 'Now then, your christian name...'

'Christian name...' He looked up to see what any good catholic nurse might wear, a rosary.

His smile became even bigger. 'Cross.'

The nurse looked around, confused. 'Cross?..'

'My christian name, its Cross.' He felt accomplished, remembering his name; the unsettling feeling of not knowing who he was had started to eat at him, but no longer.

The nurse chuckled as she wrote down his full name. '...Oh, the irony...'

As the nurse left, he settled back into his pillow and decided he deserved a nap in the noonday sunlight, besides, there wasn't anything better to do.

* * *

><p>After several more days, he was finally taken off bed rest, and so his movement improved exponentially.<p>

On one particular day, there was a commotion at the end of the ward closest to the door; several people were being hospitalized while several more were buzzing around like bees, only to get in the nurses' way. They were all clad similarly, and Cross' personal nurse looked at him oddly when he spoke his mind.

'...Finders.' He realized afterward that the nurse had no clue what he was talking about, and that it was a bit odd that the term made perfect sense to him and came naturally.

Once the commotion calmed down, he got out of bed and walked toward the crowd, only to be pointed at and whispered about in shock as he came closer. After a moment, all the finders looked at him, mortified.

One of the bedridden ones spoke quietly, as if he would be ridiculed for seeing something imaginary and drawing attention to it. 'Ge...General.. General Marian?..'

Cross dipped his head. 'Mm. That seems about right.'

The finder spoke again. 'H... How long have you been here?..'

Cross shrugged lightly. 'Mm, maybe a month. Nasty ol' bullet wound, put me to sleep for a few days there.' He smiled widely and gently rapped the bandaged side of his head. When he opened his eyes again, the finders were paler than they had been, if that was even possible.

The finder found his voice for a third time. 'No... That can't be right... You... You were shot over a year ago...'

And time stopped.

* * *

><p>This series is turning out to be waaay shorter than I wanted it to be...<p>

But, a nice cliffhanger to make me want to write the next chapter, plus to make people want to read on :3

Lol, reviews are nice~ Please review~ Thank you to those who read, follow, favorite, review, all that stuff XD


	3. Enter, Komui

All he could hear was his heartbeat; he had blocked out everything but that and his thoughts.

A whole month of trying to remember... To be told it couldn't be possible? Had he... Made up everything? It couldn't be coincident that he knew who these people were... Could it?

He felt insecure again, so confused, so wrong, so... Angry; how could they have the audacity to snatch away his identity? Again.

He somehow made it back to his bed and continued to block out the world by curling up in a hurtfully depressed state.

* * *

><p>About a week later, when the finders had begun to be fully recovered from whatever had befallen them, Cross was still sullen over the confusion, and just as he was about to curl up into another fitful nap, another commotion came.<p>

The double doors leading into the ward swung open and an asian man with shoulder length black hair that curled at the ends stormed in with a determined look on his face; he scanned the room and made his way towards the one he had interest in. Cross hadn't been paying attention, as he was reading a book before napping, and only noticed the man when he saw a shadow in his peripheral vision and began hearing sniffles. Before he could look up, the shadow had thrown itself onto him, and he could hear it fullfledgedly crying into his shoulder, hugging him tightly. A minute later, when the crying had subsided, the man let go of Cross and sat on the edge of the bed, still on the edge of tears.

'I'm sorry, Cross... -sniff- When one of the finders told me they had found you, I had to make sure... I've spoken to the doctor, even he says its a miracle you're alive... But, it really doesn't match up; he said when you were brought here, the wound was fresh, but its like the finders said to you, its been over a year, close to two years now...'

'I was worried they were mistaken, most of them haven't actually seen you and... Well, the odds really were low... I'm just glad you're safe. Everything's turned for the worst at the Order...'

Cross thought for a few moments; he remembered Komui. He sighed.

'...You really think you're my mother, don't you?'

Komui looked confused for a moment then laughed; this was Cross alright. He held back the urge to hug Cross again and instead simply shifted closer.

He dropped his voice before speaking. 'Like I said, everything's turned for the worst at the Order; Levellier keeps such a strict tab on everything we say and do, and our makeshift family just keeps getting smaller and smaller, that's why-'

Cross cut him off. 'Komui, you of all people should know I don't consider the Order my family. After all, it was someone from Central that shot me.'

'I know, but... Wait, you remember who shot you?'

'Well, not a name, but someone from Central, I know that...'

Komui sighed. '...But still, we lose people so often now... Johnny left, then Kanda... And Allen...'

Cross tensed at his apprentice's name. 'Allen... Where's Allen?'

'Well...He...He escaped...'

* * *

><p>'He...Escaped? Komui, I've been gone for two years, like Hell I know what you're talking about.'<p>

Komui sighed; it was still a touchy topic, especially with how attached he and Lenalee were to Allen. 'Well... Allen was on a mission with a group of Third Exorcists... Exorcists that are part Akuma; instead of using Innocence to fight, they use the Akuma part of them. It happened so fast... Allen and Timcanpy went berserk and attacked some of the Third Exorcists, and, they died. Levellier was furious; he used it as an endorsement that Allen was dangerous, even though we all knew that Allen would only attack an ally if he had good reason. Levellier had him locked away, and the last we saw him... Lenalee said he was escaping, with two Noah...'

Cross didn't know what to say; his little apprentice had left? Just gone, _with_ the enemy? There was only one explanation in his mind...

Cross tried to get up but, once again, was pushed back down. 'I have to go after him.'

Komui got up to leave after he was sure Cross wouldn't rebelliously get up again. 'I know, but you need to heal the rest of the way first. The doctor said it should only be a few more weeks now, that you heal much faster than most people do. Relax, once you come back, there won't be any relaxing like this; Levellier'll probably be on both our backs once you get back...'

Before Komui could leave, Cross voiced his opinion. 'Don't tell Levellier about my return...I want to be free to go after Allen once I get Judgment back.'

Komui nodded. 'Mm. I think that'll be best.'

* * *

><p>Yay, chapter three :3 I tried not to use a cliffhanger this time, though, I did want to stop after the 'He escaped.' part, but then the chapter would have been way too short.<p>

...This chapter... Is it just me, or does it seem like onesided KomuixCross? Its not supposed to be, but I can see Komui spazzing out over finding Cross, so he might seem a little more attached to Cross than he should be... It might just be me...


	4. Trapped, Restless, Caught

Allen was preparing to go out and perform; returning to Liverpool and Mother had been a good choice so far. He could go out and perform on the street, both earning money and keeping a low profile while keeping his conscience clear. He hadn't had to worry about the Order, and the only Noah he had been worrying about since he escaped the Order was the one that constantly attacked him from the inside...

But, that was the reason going back to clowning had been so important to Allen; when he was concentrating on one or two things, Neah seemed to be thwarted in his efforts to take Allen's mind.

* * *

><p><p>

Allen had had a wonderful time performing, as usual; the kids had been easily entertained, and Neah hadn't even though to take over Allen while he was out. 

As he headed back home, his mind wandered; he thought of his situation, why it was happening to him of all unlucky people, and why his master had simply disappeared. Again. Of all opportune times. Allen remembered having to peel Timcanpy from his master's room several times a day for months; Tim had especially become attached to the window sill, where the blood had soaked into the wood. Even now, while they were at Mother's Tim would curl up in Allen's pillow and pout...

But, he was always happy when Allen returned, and as Allen walked in the door of his room, Timcanpy greeted him by rocketing himself into Allen's face, causing him to fall back onto the now closed door. Tim fell into Allen's hands and nuzzled his chest; he had grow so much bigger than when Cross had left him with Allen... Or more, Allen wondered why Tim had decided to shrink down to this size instead of being that small; he had been about the size of a normal room of a house when they had escaped...

_About the same size as when I met Master..._

But, thinking of his escape, hadn't Tyki and Road been there? He had been so worried about getting to safety from the Order, Apocryphos, and God knew what else, he hadn't really noticed them leaving or trying to keep him with them... It gave him a bad feeling; they were Noah, but they were still people, no matter how inhumane or anti-humanity they were...

Allen got up, still holding Tim, and laid down on his bed; a nap couldn't hurt...

-

Mother knocked on Allen's door. 'Allen, dinner is ready.'

Silence.

'Allen, I know you're hungry, when are you not?'

Silence again.

Mother opened the door and saw Allen laying on his bed, his arms crossed over his face, as they normally were when Allen took a light nap during the day or evening. Timcanpy was blissfully snuggled into his side. Nothing seemed wrong.

Until a wide grin broke over his face and after a snicker, a very out of character, singsongy voice spoke.

'Allen's not here~.'

* * *

><p><p>

Not much had happened, and Cross really wanted out of the hospital. He was tired of being around so many people, especially so many who were filthy bastards. Well, his attitude was back completely...

His wound had healed, and quite nicely, he thought. He'd most definitely have a scar, but hopefully when he got out, he could make a new mask; even though it would look the same, it would still cover up the new scar, as the aim had been far enough away from the center of his face. For now, though, he was pleased to find that his hair still covered his right side of his face.

And he still desperately wanted out. He had thought a couple of times now to use Maria and runaway, but he decided that having the Order back him up in secret could be worth the wait. After all, he couldn't get Judgment back until either he showed up at HQ himself, possibly showing himself to Levellier and condemning himself to be stuck there, or waiting until Komui brought it to him, avoiding detection.

-

Which was exactly what Komui was doing. Hopefully it wouldn't seem too obvious what he was doing, and besides, Hevlaska had enough reason to keep the fact that Cross was alive a secret, especially from Levellier.

'Hevlaska, I need Judgment, please.' 

'Komui... Have you found... an accommodator?'

'Yes, I've found...' He was trying to avoid saying 'him.' 'Yes, I've found one.'

And with that, Hevlaska gave the Innocence over with no more questions.

* * *

><p><p>

Komui walked back to his office, carrying Judgment carefully, just as he would any other Innocence, when he was called out.

'Studying General Marian's Innocence, are we, Komui?'

A shiver went up Komui's spine; how the hell had he got here?

Komui swallowed hard before turning. 'I-Inspector...'

'Well?' Komui could tell by the look on Levellier's face that he wasn't getting away without further explanation.

* * *

>But he tried nonetheless. 'Yes. I am.'<p><p>

Okay, so chapter four! :3 Bleh, I don't know if it's just me but FF wouldn't let me have italics or the intermission bars in the copy-paste upload, so I tried just uploading it, so that's why there are dashed lines, (if it doesn't decide to fix that when its up...) but technology being odd aside...

lol, sorry if I'm once again cruel with cliffhangers... So yup, thanks for following, faving, and reviewing :D


	5. Finally, The Story Gets Somewhere

Komui pushed forward to open the door to his office, stubbornly and blatantly avoiding further conversation. But Levellier questioned him still.

'And what causes you to suddenly have so much interest in it?'

Komui hesitated; on one hand, he could lie and say his schedule had been full, and he finally had the time, but on the other, he could say half the truth...

'We've found an accomodator. I was checking Judgment over before allowing him to become an Exorcist.'

He chose the half-truth; at least the story would be the same if it was looked into...

'I see... Tell me, if General Marian had, by chance, been found, I would be informed, yes?'

Komui tensed and hesitated again. Couldn't be...He'd been found out, could it? Either way, better to play it safe...

'O-of course.' The stutter was barely audible, to Komui's inner delight.

'Glad to here it...' Levellier walked past Komui, but before Komui could flee to the confines of his office, Levellier stopped a little way down the hall, and ominously continued.'... But, should it occur that someone kept the fact that Cross Marian was alive from Central, that person and General Marian would share the same fate at the hands of the Church, whatever that fate may be...' And he continued down the hall as if nothing had happened.

Komui calmly stepped inside his office, finally, and shut the door. As soon as the door was shut, he collapsed against it, and let a shiver run down his spine at the insinuation of Levellier's threat. He still held Judgment, and as he looked down to it, he let out a sigh.

He jumped as his wireless crackled to life with static.

'Komui! I'm bored, what's taking you so long?'

Cross lazed in the bed as he half-listened to Komui over his wireless. Cross had been extremely bored, he really had. And his situation concerning the filthy idiots around him hadn't lessened in the slightest. He couldn't possibly still be hurt, and was constantly warding off nurses thet in other circumstances he would have enjoyed the company of...

But at present, they and everyone else were annoying.

Komui trailed off on the other end, and Cross decided that wasn't good... He sat up a little straighter, on aleret should he decide to bolt regardless of consequences.

'Komui... You're being awful quiet, it's not like you. What's wrong?' He huffed a sigh as he said the last two words.

He heard Komui give a defeated sigh on the other end.

'...He knows, Cross. I wanted to let you recover as long as possible but...,' he sighed again,' the best course right now is to let you do what you do best: disappear. I'll be there before sunset so you'll at least have tonight to leave.'

Cross glanced out the window at the soon setting sun and grinned menacingly. 'Wonderful. Been waiting to hear that.'

He loved being in is own clothes; he had inwardly laughed at Komui's surprised face as he had lunged for clothes instead of Judgement first. He had to hand it to Komui, the few combinations of clothes he had obviously raided Cross' room for were pretty tasteful, and Cross had quickly chosen, grudgingly, the least ornate.

Cross lightly brushed his hip; he had missed the weight of Judgement on his hip the most, it had felt like he was completely vulnerable, and to have it back made him feel more recovered than he had thought he could. No man, akuma, or Noah could stop him now!

And speaking of Noah, regardless of hiding, the first thing on his list was to find Allen and Timcanpy; hopefully Neah could wait just a little longer and Cross could clean up the mess he'd let happen...

But, sentiment wasn't going to help him at current, and he snapped out of his moment to walk into the hall, canvas pack slung over one shoulder and unruly red hair bright against the dark of his coat. Komui was waiting there, waiting to give Cross the inevitable speech about being careful.

His face darkened with worry as he began,'Cross, please, _please_, be careful; it's not just akuma and Noah now, it's the Order, too. Levellier has already proclaimed you a heretic, even though there was an attempt on your life, and anyone caught with you or helping you will be, too, and while I want to say if an exorcist finds you, they'd let you go, I'm not sure they all would, and heresy doesn't have an easy punishment, Cross'

Cross waved a hand in dismissal. 'I know, I know, don't get caught, don't die. After I find Allen, I'll disappear from the Earth with 'im.'

He began walking away, but thought of something.

'If you're helping me, that makes you a heretic to Central, too...'

Glancing over his shoulder, Cross saw Komui grin.

'The only solid evidence of you being alive is you. They can't kill me or anyone else without you in their custody.'

Cross continued walkiing with an amused grin and hmph.

'Well, if that works for ya, that's great, but we both know Levellier doesn't care about evidence. Goodbye, Komui.'

Komui stared as Cross fled out the hospital doors into the darkness of night. 'Goodbye, General Cross.'

Allen had been found by Johnny and Kanda in the past couple weeks, but now, he was alone, and what was worse was that his Innocence was being unresponsive and it looked... feathery; that really couldn't be good...

What was even worse was that the Earl had decided to show up in the middle of this little town, and was derangedly mumbling and shouting; all Allen caught was Mana's name, Neah's name, and it 'all being Mana's fault.' Well, speaking of, Neah was picking a wonderful time to ignore Allen, he might have been able to make sense of it all...

Tim had disappeared, too...

Well, now seemed like the perfect time to get away, not like he could do anything with an unresponsive Innocence, and the Earl hardly seemed set on Allen at the moment...

Well, there's five :3

Ugh, sorry about that 6+ month unannounced break, I had _major_ writer's block, and I didn't start writing this chapter until late June. Aaand, not to mention one of my friends outside the computer introduced me to an anime I'm obsessed with just as much as DGray now, so I've also been writing on a really long one shot for that too...

Hopefully, it won't happen again.

If it hits the six month mark again, please, someone message me :3

I've also been looking for ideas for Cross' Allen; hopefully, I'll get one of those up before the end of the year too... Ugh, it's been almost a year since I updated it...Can't believe its been that long, I seriously need to get rid of this writer's block :)

So, thanks for following, favoriting, reviewing, and sticking with this through that ridiculous unexpected hiatus :3


	6. Hope's Only Gone If You Let It Be

It was by stroke of luck that the hospital had been so close to Liverpool. Cross had arrived at the small church on the outskirts of the town within a few hours of walking. If it was true that the Order knew anything, this would be probably be the first place they searched, but Cross could navigate better from here.

If Cross could remotely call anything home, it was probably here. There was no Order on his back, Mother didn't harass him about his habits, and it was quiet from the lack of nuisances.

But of course, he was on the run and couldn't stay. But, it was a good place to start searching for Allen.

-

Maria was shocked for the second time within the past few months; fate kept throwing fugitives at her door! First Allen pops in, and now Cross! Admittedly, she had almost slapped Cross when he walked in her door, but then she remembered how upset Allen had been...

He'd been wrong, fortunately; Cross was alive. And standing in her doorway, asking if she'd seen or heard from Allen.

'So, you do care. I didn't notice until Allen came a couple months ago...'

'Of course I care, that's why I have to find him. The Idiot's probably in trouble, and on the run, who else is gonna help?'

Maria shrugged. 'He left a couple weeks ago with a couple of friends. At least one of them was an exorcist, or it might be better to say another fugitive. I'm sure he's fine.'

Cross turned as if making to leave. 'The Hell he's fine. Even I can't control Neah, you honestly think another exorcist can? Not to mention Neah will take whatever measure it takes to control Allen completely. He'd begun that over two years ago, I highly doubt he'd give up just because someone else is around.'

Maria shrugged. 'I guess that's true. You're not going to stay? You didn't even come inside and you're already trying to leave.'

'The sooner I find Allen the better. Not to mention the Order's claimed me a heretic for being shot by someone from Central and disappearing after what everyone seems to agree should have been a fatal shot to the head. I don't remember anything between a gun in my face and waking up, so it's not my fault I left, but there's no telling Levellier that. Oh, and they may or may not think I'm alive. I guess we'll see which.'

'So you can't be here in case they start searching...'

He nodded. He was anxious to leave; every second gone by was a chance Allen was dead and Neah walked the earth again. 'You don't know anything at all about which way they went?'

She sighed. 'The town you found him in. I don't think he even realized that's where they were going.'

The end of the last sentence was lost on Cross, as when Mother finished, he was gone.

Today really wasn't going well for Allen.

First he bumps into a deranged Earl having a meltdown.

And now he's being chased by his master's murderer.

Apocryphos ain't slow, either.

Every time he stops, and thinks he's safe, Apocryphos, still in his Cardinal guise, pops back up, and he has to start running again.

It wouldn't be that bad if Apocryphos' Innocence didn't have tendrils all over the place; Allen kept tripping over them, though, he supposed that was the point.

There was one point where he especially tripped over one.

When he looked up to see how much time he had before Apocryphos was upon him, he blanked.

That wasn't his master's bloodred hair...

...Was it?

Cross felt rude for leaving Mother's so quickly and without a word, but if Allen was still in the town she'd said, he was close.

Allen was close.

And the sooner he got to Allen, the sooner he could kick Neah out of his son.

Well, find another vessel, then kick Neah out of his son.

But the vessel could wait until after he found Allen.

Drawing closer to the town, he could see that it...It wasn't right.

For one thing, it was lit in the middle of the night. Lit like it was day...

By little white tendrils that Cross knew well enough were Innocence.

And the only Innocence that could cover an entire town was the bastard that shot him.

Allen's hopes were dashed; as soon as the thought occurred, it died. Standing before him was exactly his master, down to the flashy gold on his collar, the fastidiously placed red hairs, and even the dirty smirk on his perfectly Cross-appearing face...

But Allen knew his master would never in a million years have the pure white, feathered wings that his doppelganger had. Especially when said feathery wings were the source of the tendrils which now wrapped around Allen's legs.

Bloody fantastic. And his Innocence still wouldn't work...

The lookalike strode forward to Allen, with the same cocky gait he associated with his master, and began chuckling, stopping just in front of Allen. 'You thought you had evaded me, Walker, when those Noah saved you last time. But I'll still be the end of you and that curs'ed Fourteenth. With the three of you out of the way, the Heart may finally be safe.'

Allen grit his teeth a little; he was glad the voice was different from his master's. 'Three...'

'Cross Marian posed more of a threat, I destroyed him first. Now the Fourteenth that resides in you poses the most threat. You unfortunately got caught up in his schemes. But now what you know proves dangerous, so I have to kill you along with him.'

He took Allen's face in a hand.

'I keep saying I'm going to kill you, but all I really want is for your soul and memories to be-'

In one fell swoop, the tendrils were cut and Allen was dragged backwards by a dark blur. A little ways away, there was a shout.

'Don't be creepy with my apprentice while you look like me!'

Short chapter, but I like where it's gone.

Apocryphos has always seemed creepy to me with the whole 'let yourself be taken over by me' thing.

Hmm. I made him a lot more... lacking in care than he seems in the manga.

Well, I guess that'll be explained as well as why he can turn into Cross later on. XD

Yay, next chapter~, but I suck at fighty scenes apparently, so we'll see how Cross gets himself and Allen out.

Lol, and if I may, thanks to Marslion9, for asking about this when I haven't updated in a while; the inquiry really does make me remember I need to update and makes killing writer's block a little easier. XD

Thanks for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing~! 3 Till the next chapter~!


	7. Ah, So There's The Fluff

Allen had closed his eyes as he'd been lifted up, but he opened them now that he, and whatever had saved him, wasn't moving. He glanced to his left to find his master and... his master's lookalike facing off. When he glanced to his right, he was met with what seemed to be a metal plated chest, and when he glanced upward...

Well, then he was met with the unmistakable metal armor helmet that was a level three akuma.

At what Allen later realized was a signal form his master, the akuma dropped him gently to the ground, making sure Allen would be out of range of whatever may take place.

All the while, Cross and Apocryphos had been decidedly catching up, as on all accounts, Cross Marian should have been dead for almost two years now, at least to the world.

'It's amazing how resilient a pest can be. I should have made sure you were dead when I had the chance. I suppose now's a good opportunity.'

Cross gave his characteristic smirk.

'Because I don't have enough death threats on my head. That's fine, though, I'm looking forward to this one; it's not exactly pleasant being shot in through the head.'

'I would have never guessed! Must be awful, being left to die!'

'Rather. Now, why don't we see which is better: a solitary Innocence,' he shifted his weight,' or a modified level three!'

At the last words, Allen felt a breeze from beside him; the akuma had leapt, obviously wanting its first attack to be aerial. Allen now noticed that the akuma had a wicked sword, with jagged, uneven edges, and it was dripping with the virus infested blood-oil. Whether the oil would have any affect on Apocryphos, Allen wasn't sure.

What Allen was sure of, though, was that Apocryphos was wary of the akuma to some degree. He was using the glowing white tendrils already draped around the little town to bat at the akuma, which was small in comparison to some of the tendrils. The akuma easily evaded them, and it hacked away at any that came near it, but Allen still felt the akuma was outmatched.

After a few moments more of watching, Allen felt a tug on the back of his shirt.

'We've outsmarted him for now, move!'

Allen winced as he got up off the ground where the akuma had laid him. His legs were sore, but he could walk.

Running, on the other hand, was a bit difficult. Somehow through the escape, Allen hadn't noticed how closely Cross stayed with him.

Nor had he noticed the once Cross had stoppped while running through the small town.

But, now they were fairly safe, having run to the cover of a nearby forest. Allen flopped onto a log; now his legs felt more than just sore, it was starting to worry him.

Once he'd caught his breath, Allen watched his master for a few minutes in silence.

Cross had sat himself under a large old oak, toying with something; Allen couldn't tell what it was, but his master's face showed concerned worry.

Allen still couldn't tell if he was dreaming or not. As odd as the day had started, he still didn't feel his master saving him had been a plausible outcome. His master had been gone for two years... To show up now was his style, but it didn't set well with Allen.

After the internal analysis of the situation, Allen decided to break the ongoing silence.

'Master...What...What is that?'

Cross glanced up at his apprentice. He didn't bother hiding the fact he wasn't happy.

'Your golem. Try to take better care of him.'

At this, despite his legs, Allen scrambled to his master's side. The object in Cross' hands turned out to be more of a small pile of rubble, along with an oddly gnarled stone.

'Timcanpy... What happened?'

The question had been directed to the pile; Allen had seen Tim smashed hundreds of times, only for him to jump back to life only seconds afterward...

Cross picked up the stone and held it up to the light filtering into the forest from the breaking dawn, contemplating it and obviously still worried.

'Everything has a weakness... Damn that Apocryphos... It's gonna take forever to reanimate 'im...'

'So...He'll be okay, you can fix him..?'

The ex-general pulled an empty wine bottle out of his pack and began to pour the rubble, minus the stone, into the bottle.

'Of course I can; I made the damn thing, if I can't fix him, what good am I?'

Cross corked the bottle and placed both the bottle and the stone back into his pack.

The two sat in silence for a moment.

Another moment.

Allen shifted to where his back was to the tree as well.

'Master... I know you'll probably call me stupid or an Idiot like always, but... I missed you. It felt awful, thinking you were gone...'

Allen was pulled closer to his master. While the embrace was still a small and simple gesture, and still not a full on and complete hug, it was still more heartfelt than the one previous had been at the Order.

'… ...Idiot.'

A heartbeat passed, then Allen spoke.

'I still don't understand...'

'What?'

'I don't understand how the birds outside the order were still singing, the morning after that day.'

Yay, chapter seven~ :3

That last scene, while reinvented when I actually wrote it, was the first thing that popped into my head and turned into alllllll of this. XD

So of course, thanks to all of you who read this~! Took me this long to get to what I first envisioned. XD

So, in the next chapter, I suppose we'll see more parentalness :3 Maybe some questions answered as well... Depends on how curious Allen is and how much Cross is willing to tell him XD

So, see you next chapter, Loves~!


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